New York, Feb 05, 2024 – BNP Paribas is pleased to share it recently renewed and increased its loans to Grameen America, further solidifying the bank’s strong commitment to promoting social and financial inclusion. BNP Paribas’s relationship with Grameen America extends beyond financial support and is driven by the Group’s intent to reinforce positive societal impact.

Grameen America was founded in 2008, in Queens, NY, and has quickly become one of the largest microfinance institutions in the United States. As a non-for-profit organization, its mission is dedicated to helping underserved entrepreneurial women build their businesses, secure financing, and provide support that may not have been accessible otherwise.

As of December 2023, Grameen America has supported over 186,000 borrowers with more than $3.8B in loan capital through 27 cities across the country. Microfinance loans to organizations such as Grameen America, not only supports the development of small economic projects but also helps to open doors to emerging entrepreneurs seeking to elevate social initiatives and economic security.

Findings from a study conducted on Grameen America by independent research firm MDRC found that the Grameen America microlending model resulted in a reduction of measures of material hardship and an increase of credit scores and business ownership. The microlending program also improved participants’ feelings of overall financial well-being.

In 2017, BNP Paribas successfully issued its first credit line to Grameen America and has since demonstrated a fruitful partnership, for example the bank provided pro-bono mentoring to Grameen America’s employees at its head offices in New York.

The recent closing of a new microfinance loan in 2023 demonstrates BNP Paribas’s continued commitment to its longstanding relationship with Grameen America and the noteworthy funding it provides to low-income entrepreneurs. To learn more about Grameen America and its meaningful work please visit: Grameen America.

BNP Paribas has been financing microfinance institutions, building meaningful connections and providing access to credit in emerging countries since 1989. Consequently, reaching 2.9 million indirect beneficiaries through 1,2 billion euro in total loans. Last May, BNP Paribas also renewed for three more years its partnership with Grameen’s Creative Lab, a separate entity from the Grameen America that promotes a concept of having a “World of Three Zeroes”: zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emissions.

Press Contacts:

BNP PARIBAS
Guy Taylor
+1 (332) 323-3704
Guild.Taylor@us.bnpparibas.com

Claire Schiff
+1 (646) 634-4042
Claire.Schiff@us.bnpparibas.com

GRAMEEN
media@grameenamerica.org

About Grameen America
Grameen America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit microfinance organization dedicated to helping low-income women build small businesses to create better lives for their families. The organization offers access to loan capital, financial education, asset- and credit-building, and peer support to transform communities and advance financial mobility in the United States. Since January 2008, Grameen America has invested over $3.8 billion in more than 188,000 women entrepreneurs. Opening originally in Jackson Heights, Queens, Grameen America has expanded to 27 cities in Atlanta, GA, Austin, TX, Boston, MA, Camden, NJ, Charlotte, NC, Chicago, IL, Connecticut, Dallas, TX, Fresno, CA, Houston, TX, Indianapolis, IN, Los Angeles, CA, Memphis, TN, Miami, FL, Newark, NJ, New York, NY, Omaha, NE, Oakland, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Riverside, CA, San Antonio, TX, San Bernardino, CA, San Jose, CA, Trenton, NJ and Union City, NJ.

About BNP Paribas CIB in the Americas
Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) Americas serves over 3,200 Corporate, Institutional, Private Banking & Distribution clients through its: Global Banking, which provides sophisticated and diversified expertise in financing, cash management and financial advisory services for clients; Global Markets, which offers consistent client service and innovative solutions for investment, hedging, and financing opportunities across asset classes and geographies, as well as research and market intelligence; Securities Services, a leading global custodian and securities services provider offering multi-asset post-trade and asset servicing solutions for buy- and sell-side market participants, corporates and issuers; and Asset Management offering high value-added solutions to individual savers, companies, and institutional investors through a broad range of skills in four investment areas: Equities; Fixed Income; Private Debt & Real Assets; and Multi-Asset, Quantitative, & Solutions (MAQS).

Insider kicked off Climate Week NYC by naming its inaugural Climate Action 30, which identifies 30 of the top global activists, business leaders, scientists, community leaders, and others from around the world who are working toward climate and environmental solutions. Herve Duteil, Chief Sustainability Officer, Americas, was named to the list of 30 global leaders working toward climate solutions.

Originally published in GreenBiz

By Hervé Duteil, Chief Sustainability Officer, Americas for BNP Paribas

Sustainability in finance is not new. Responsible investing may date as far back as the 18th century Quakers or more recently the 1960s or 1970s in relation to the civil rights movement in the United States or the opposition to the apartheid government in South Africa. Around 2007, the term “impact investing” emerged.

The term “sustainability” is not new either. Its modern use was strongly influenced by the work of the United Nations in the 1980s. Then came the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals 2000. Can you number them? (There were eight.) Finally, in 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals appeared.

Yet, none of these initiatives made sustainability as universally pervasive as it is today — from corporations to media, civil society, governments and regulators. So, what happened? I would argue that as some banking pioneers introduced sustainability concepts into mainstream finance, the banking sector in turn introduced sustainability to the masses.

While banks have achieved at least one success — putting the topic of sustainability on the universal agenda — true success is achieved once we are on course to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Private-sector action has its limits. Corporations operate within markets; markets have rules; rules create incentives; and current incentives are largely skewed towards the short term while our climate challenge is a long-term one. Only systemic reforms, by way of public policy and regulations, can integrate the long term into our economic short term and create the business case for the entire private sector to act in ways that fully serve the public interest.

Systemic reforms may already be underway in the banking sector in several ways. One may argue whether emerging regulations come fast enough or go far enough, however, the banking sector is moving from a state of spearheading voluntary initiatives to being guided by systemic regulations around climate issues.

From voluntary initiatives …

COP 21 in 2015 led to the Paris Agreement, which serves as a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change. It mandated specific objectives to the financial sector. Notably, Article 2.1(c) establishes the goal of making “finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.”

In 2015, amid growing concerns over climate-related financial risks, the G20 asked the Financial Stability Board to review how the financial sector can account for climate-related risk. This has resulted in the industry-led Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Its recommendations were submitted in 2017 and require defining strategies in line with long-term CO2 emission-reduction objectives.

To meet these objectives, banks joined forces at national and international levels to create a common approach to tackle climate change and enable the transition to the green economy. This led to the creation of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) launched in April 2021 by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), in which over 100 banks have committed to aligning the greenhouse gas emissions caused by their financing activities with the trajectory required for a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.

… to national and international regulations

Alongside corporate initiatives and collective action, burgeoning regulatory guidelines are imposing what a number of banks already have started to implement voluntarily. There have been several such developments in Europe, and France in particular, with similar trends around the world, from Asia Pacific to the Americas.

The European Commission set a carbon neutral goal by 2050 with interim targets. As part of the European Green Deal, the European Union (EU) set itself a binding target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. As an intermediate step towards climate neutrality, the EU raised its 2030 climate ambition, committing to cutting emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030. The EU is also working on the revision of its climate, energy and transport-related legislation under the “Fit for 55 Package” to align current laws with the 2030 and 2050 ambitions.

To achieve these goals, the EU expects strong commitment from all stakeholders in contributing to its targets, including from large companies. This is also true for individual member states such as France, where one of the main objectives of the “Climate and Resilience Law,” promulgated in August, is to meet greenhouse gas emissions’ reduction targets in line with the EU legislation and the Paris Agreement.

Furthermore, the 2017 French law on “Corporate Duty of Care” places a due-diligence duty on large French companies, requiring them to publish an annual “vigilance plan.” Those plans must establish effective measures to identify risks and prevent severe impact on human rights and the environment resulting from the company’s own activities (for banks, this includes their financing and investment activities), and the activities of companies it controls directly or indirectly (subsidiaries as defined by French corporate law).

In case of noncompliance, a court can order the company to comply with its vigilance obligations. A company’s liability can also be assessed by the corporate duty of care law — for instance, if the company’s activities caused environmental damages. As a result, the number of related court litigated cases has been increasing over the recent years.

In this context, it may be worth noting that the banking supervisory authorities from EU member states, including France, have started to account for climate-related risks. In December, the French Financial Market Authority and France’s banking and insurance sectors’ supervisor recommended that banks and asset managers “increase the clarity and precision of their sectoral policies for oil and gas, inspired by the work carried out on coal, and report transparently and consistently on their fossil fuel exposures, including the entire value chain and the broadest possible scope of business, among others.”

While details may be convoluted, implementation slow and more global coordination needed, one thing is certain: Systemic reforms are underway in at least some corporate sectors and pockets of the world.

As Margaret Mead, anthropologist and recipient of the Planetary Citizen of the Year Award, once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

[For more news on green finance and ESG issues, subscribe to our free GreenFin Weekly newsletter.]

To our esteemed legal colleagues:

Recent events involving acts of violence against Black people have dramatically focused our attention on racial and social injustice in all of our societies. As leaders of corporate legal departments in the financial services industry, we have come together as a group to denounce discrimination, in whatever form, and express our support for those who have been subjected to these experiences. We are grateful to our colleagues who have shared emotional and very personal accounts of their experiences in the hopes of fostering a broader understanding and bringing about a more inclusive culture in the workplace. In this moment, we face difficult but necessary questions about the persistence of racism as well as other forms of discrimination, and what further steps we can take in our departments and profession to drive change.

The advantages of having diverse teams in our departments are well documented. This has been a focus in the legal community for many years. However, we cannot rest on past efforts. Recent events impel us to increase our efforts, particularly with respect to racial and ethnic minorities.

Our commitments in this letter are by no means intended to alter or diminish a great deal of ongoing dedication and attention within each of our institutions to diversity and inclusion more generally. Nor will they reduce our efforts around other forms of diversity and inclusion; these remain just as important to us. However, in addressing and discussing recent events, each of us felt we wanted to make our own very personal statements by openly showing our level of commitment to tackling racism/promoting greater equality, just as we might do in our private lives. We understand the power of the collective in any form of civic engagement and equally we understand this as leaders in our legal communities.

To be clear, each signatory has developed its own diversity and inclusion initiatives in accordance with the goals of its broader institution. We choose to come together in this moment in the hope we can drive more substantial impact for our industry together than we might achieve individually. While we share here the collective commitments we aim to make, each of us will adopt or vary the specific commitments below as appropriate for our individual institutions, taking into account specific challenges based on geography, the demographic composition of its workforce and the legal and regulatory environments in which it operates (including the availability of underlying data).

Our shared commitments lie along three pillars: (I) Internal Action, (II) External Supplier Engagements and (III) Social Action Efforts.

Pillar I – Internal Action

We need to continue our efforts to provide opportunities to showcase talent and increase exposure of that talent to stakeholders with power to influence careers and prospects for advancement. To achieve this, leveraging the opportunities and initiatives across our organizations, we are committed to promoting diverse talent by:

• Providing or enhancing platforms and opportunities to increase racially and ethnically diverse employees in leadership roles through cross-business and cross-practice area assignments, projects driven by senior leadership and talent development
• Broadening involvement of racially and ethnically diverse employees in forums that identify high potential talent and determine
• Ensuring inclusive hiring practices through diverse candidate slates for open positions, as well as diverse panels of
• Creating or enhancing existing mentoring/reverse mentoring and sponsorship relationships to help navigate career challenges and as a means to developing powerful allies and advocates, partnering with law

Providing or enhancing regular diversity and inclusion training for legal department employees, to better equip everyone to participate in, and managers to proactively engage and effectively lead, diversity and inclusion efforts.

Pillar II – External Supplier Engagements

Just as we communicate our expectations to our law firm partners about the substantive services they perform on our behalf, so too must we continue to be clear about the importance of diversity and inclusion and our expectations around diverse staffing of our matters. We are grateful that our law firms and other legal services providers have partnered with us in diversity and inclusion efforts and will continue to support and encourage such efforts. To achieve this, we are committed to:

• Deepening our understanding of the progress the firms are making with respect to advancement of racially and ethnically diverse employees and including such data among the factors we will consider in selecting external legal counsel. At the inception of new matters or upon review and renewal of panel determinations, we will meet with our law firm partners to discuss appropriate staffing, including utilizing diverse teams of legal professionals on our matters.
• Continuing to explore increased opportunities for diverse attorneys to lead our matters and client relationships.
• Identifying law firms and other legal service providers with racially and ethnically diverse ownership and considering these firms for our work in the hope of increasing engagements with these firms.

Pillar III – Social Action Efforts

To have an impact externally, we want to use our role as members of the legal profession to address issues faced by under-represented communities. We also want to ensure long-term support systems and networks to which developing attorneys may return, time and again, for guidance and coaching throughout their careers, with the overriding intention to increase the pipeline of talent. To achieve this, we are committed to:

• Ensuring availability of a broad range of pro-bono opportunities that are focused on addressing issues that arise from social or racial injustice and inequity and encouraging broad engagement from our employees.
• Establishing or expanding internships, networking, or other programs that support lawyers from backgrounds that may be underrepresented in the profession – partnering with law firms and other third-party organizations.

In conclusion, our culture and what we value and promote in our departments must recognize and account for the full breadth of talent, styles and perspectives, including those who are racially and ethnically diverse. Our profession will be better and stronger for our having done so.

Today more and more corporations are developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies that take into consideration factors such as sustainability and the impacts of their actions. BNP Paribas has made CSR a focal point of its business strategy, embedding it into its operations and well as investment and financing strategies. The bank also fosters an environment of diversity and inclusion and encourages employees to take leading roles in its CSR efforts and civic initiatives. For its impressive efforts and accomplishments in these areas, Cardrates.com has recognized BNP Paribas with its Editor’s Choice™ Award for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Learn more at: https://www.cardrates.com/news/recognizing-bnp-paribas-corporate-social-responsibility-efforts/

Formation of U.S-based alliance by Bloomberg will support global mobilization of private capital in response to climate change concerns

New York, December 6, 2018 – Today, during the inaugural Sustainable Finance Week in New York, BNP Paribas announced that it is one of the 15 founding members of the U.S. Alliance for Sustainable Finance (USASF), aiming to drive investment in clean energy and climate resilience projects across the U.S. The alliance will provide the resources and expertise needed to identify and streamline existing climate-finance initiatives, encourage greater transparency across climate-related financial risks and opportunities, and ultimately, drive more capital to sustainable investments.

USASF’s founding members include Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citi, Crédit Agricole CIB, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Macquarie Group, Morgan Stanley, Neuberger Berman, Nuveen, S&P Global, Trillium Asset Management, and Wells Fargo. The USASF will also join the global network of Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) convened by the United Nations Environment Programme.

“As one of the 15 founding members of USASF, BNP Paribas believes that this alliance will stimulate further climate-friendly and sustainable finance innovation across the U.S. capital markets,” said Jean-Yves Fillion, CEO of BNP Paribas USA and Chairman of CIB Americas. “We are confident that the financial services industry can help be a positive force for change due to its central role in financing the economy, and we look forward to working with the USASF to meet the Paris Agreement targets.”

BNP Paribas is committed to financing sectors that have significant positive impacts on our society. As of June 30, 2018, BNP Paribas had over €1 billion of commitments in support of social entrepreneurship and microfinance, serving approximately 1,500 clients and partners. In addition, as of the end of 2017, BNP Paribas had arranged €155 billion of financings directly contributing to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the U.S., BNP Paribas announced in October that it was an anchor investor in a $5.1 million project for Veterans Coordinated Approach to Recovery and Employment (“Veterans CARE”), a Pay for Success initiative to improve employment outcomes for Veterans with service-connected PTSD.

For more information regarding the USASF, please visit: https://go.bloomberg.com/events/usasf/

 

Press Contacts BNP Paribas USA

Keely Gispan +1 332 323 3705 Keely.gispan@us.bnpparibas.com

Guy Taylor +1 332 323 3704 guild.taylor@us.bnpparibas.com

Follow us on Twitter: @BNPPamericas

 

About BNP Paribas USA

BNP Paribas has built a strong and diversified presence in the United States to support its client base. The bank employs close to 15,000 people and has had a presence in the USA since the late 1800s. Bank of the West serves over 2 million individuals and small & businesses through a network of around 600 branches and business centers. Large corporate and institutional clients are serviced by BNP Paribas’ Corporate & Institutional Banking franchise that has a presence in the main US cities, in addition to a global reach through a network of offices in EMEA and APAC. The bank also offers asset management services through BNP Paribas Asset Management as well as Real Estate and Fleet Services through partnerships. The Bank owns an equity stake in Nasdaq-listed First Hawaiian Bank which was previously 100% owned by BNP Paribas. www.usa.bnpparibas

About BNP Paribas Group

BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 73 countries, with more than 196,000 employees, including around 149,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realize their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the European leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific. www.group.bnpparibas

BNP Paribas Named World’s Best Bank for Sustainable Finance in Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2018

 

London, Paris – 12 July 2018 BNP Paribas is the world’s best bank for Sustainable Finance, according to the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2018.

In granting this award, Euromoney underlined the significant steps taken by BNP Paribas aimed at having a positive impact on society.

Helen Avery, Sustainable Finance Editor, Euromoney said: “BNP Paribas has committed itself to sustainable finance in a way that is unmatched in the sector. By turning down deals and pulling out of sectors that are not sustainable, as well as driving new sustainable finance initiatives across all of its businesses.”

In particular Euromoney highlighted the Group’s decision to cease financing of oil and gas from shale and oil from tar sands, and its decision to cease financing and investment activities of tobacco companies. At the end of 2017, BNP Paribas had allocated 155bn euros towards financing projects which contribute directly to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Jean Laurent Bonnafe, CEO, BNP Paribas said:

“We are delighted to be recognized by Euromoney in their annual awards for excellence. At BNP Paribas, we put sustainable finance at the heart of our business model. We believe banks have a crucial role to play, leveraging our place at the center of the economy, in order to bring together individuals, businesses and investors to channel resources towards projects which address the major social and environmental challenges facing society.”

“I would like to thank our clients and partners who entrust us with their projects and who have challenged us to provide new solutions as they also seek more sustainable models. And I would like to thank our staff who are passionate about having a positive impact in their work and have been a key driver in the bank’s focus on environmental and social issues.”

BNP Paribas was also recognized in the following categories:

• Best Bank for Sustainable Finance, Western Europe
• Best Bank, Luxembourg
• Best Investment Bank, France

Press contacts

Alexandra Umpleby – +44 20 7595 2436 – alexandra.umpleby@uk.bnpparibas.com
Coralie France-Savin – +33 (0)1 40 14 94 89 – coralie.francesavin@bnpparibas.com
Claire Helleputte – +33 (0)1 55 77 89 63 – claire.helleputte@bnpparibas.com

Notes to Editors

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 73 countries, with more than 196,000 employees, including around 149,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets, International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors.

About Euromoney

For almost 50 years, Euromoney has been the leading publication for covering the growth of international finance. Over the last 12 months, its coverage has included interviews with close to 100 bank CEOs, ministers of finance and central bank governors around the world. Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence are the awards that matter to the banks and bankers who matter. They were established in 1992 and were the first of their kind in the global banking industry. This year, Euromoney received almost 1,500 submissions from banks in an awards programme that covers 20 global awards, more than 50 regional awards, and best bank awards in close to 100 countries.

• UN Environment and BNP Paribas have today signed a milestone agreement at the One Planet Summit to establish Sustainable Finance Facilities, collaborative partnerships aimed at raising development capital to drive sustainable economic growth in emerging countries.
• UN Environment and BNP Paribas will collaborate to identify suitable commercial projects with measurable environmental and social impact, with a target of capital funding amounting to USD 10 billion by 2025 in developing countries.
• The aim is to support smallholder projects related to renewable energy access, agroforestry, water access and responsible agriculture among other sustainable activities.
• The Sustainable Finance Facilities programme is the first of its kind in terms of collaboration between companies, investors, development sector partners and civil society organisations, with the support of national governments.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas at the One Planet Summit under the patronage of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron. This landmark agreement is fully in line with both UN Environment’s and BNP Paribas’ commitments to developing meaningful and sustainable projects addressing environmental and social challenges in emerging countries.

This agreement builds on the Tropical Landscapes Financing Facility, a partnership between UN Environment, BNP Paribas, World Agroforestry Centre and ADM Capital in Indonesia.

UN Environment and BNP Paribas will scale the collaborative effort by establishing Sustainable Finance Facilities in many more developing countries, with a target capital funding amount of US$10 billion by 2025.

Through sourcing funding from third-party global investors, and arranging and issuing green loans, Sustainable Finance Facilities will help channel finance from the private sector to fund sustainable economic development in emerging countries.

Projects focused on rural smallholder productivity enhancement, rural renewable electrification and forest landscape restoration and protection will support national climate and sustainable development commitments, build climate resilience and help countries and communities achieve targets for food, water and energy security. Projects will recognise the vital role of relevant stakeholders, in particular women, indigenous peoples and local communities in all areas of sustainable growth and the need for their full and effective participation.

The projects could include the restoration of degraded agriculture landscapes through agro-forestry, the improvement of small-holder agriculture or renewable energy investments in rural areas, in particular to replace charcoal. Climate-smart agriculture, stopping deforestation and restoring forests and landscapes at significant scale could together contribute over 30 per cent to the achievement of the Paris Agreement.

BNP Paribas will continue to act as the capital markets adviser and structuring adviser to Sustainable Finance Facilities as they are established, and will bring institutional investor capital to participate in the programme.

UN Environment will ensure that environmental and social impacts of projects are positive and significant, and are at the heart of the work of the Sustainable Finance Facilities.

With this agreement, signed at the One Planet Summit, BNP Paribas reinforces its commitment to bringing pioneering financial solutions at scale and helping the UN achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas, said: “As an international bank, we consider it our duty to contribute to a better future. We have a role to play in leveraging our place at the centre of the economy, where we not only take action ourselves, but also bring diverse players to direct financial capital to projects that address the issue of climate change and more broadly, sustainable economic development. We have a particular responsibility to direct this financing to developing countries and vulnerable populations. While some projects may seem to be on a small scale, we must not forget that collectively, these initiatives can make a considerable difference to improving the environment, biodiversity or social development. This agreement marks a new way for governments, businesses and institutions to work together to co-develop solutions.”

Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said: ““The largest untapped potential for climate action is in how we manage our land and soils. The partnership with BNP Paribas sets a signal to the finance industry that ‘business as usual’ is not an option anymore. We need to design sustainable agriculture and forestry in a way that solves the climate crisis, rather than contributes to it. Right now, less than 3 percent of climate finance, public or private, goes to sustainable land-use – and yet it can be more than 30 percent of the solution. We need a tenfold increase in climate finance that goes to sustainable land-use.”

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 74 countries, with more than 192,000 employees, including more than 146,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance.

In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the European leader in consumer lending.

BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.

About UN Environment

UN Environment is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments, the private sector, the civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations across the world.

About the TLFF

The Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility (TLFF) aims to ‘leverage private finance for public good’ by scaling up investment in landscapes resulting in enhancing the ‘GDP of the Poor’ achieved through sustainable production of agricultural commodities, and improved smallholder productivity with reduced deforestation in Indonesia.

The TLFF was launched by the Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia on 26 October 2016, based on a partnership between UN Environment, BNP Paribas, ADM Capital and The World Agroforestry Centre, receiving strong support from the Indonesian government to create a mechanism to access and deliver private sector capital enabling the country to meet its significant development and climate targets.  The objective is to support closing the USD 20bn funding gap in Indonesia for projects with significant environmental and social impact which are critical to securing long-term economic prosperity.

Press Contacts

UN Environment
Florian Eisele – Florian.Eisele@unep.org  +352. 691 588 863

BNP Paribas
Julia Boyce – julia.boyce@bnpparibas.com +33 (0)1 43 16 82 04
Coralie France-Savin – coralie.francesavin@bnpparibas.com +33 (0)1 40 14 94 89
Renato Martinelli – renato.martinelli@bnpparibas.com +33 (0)1 58 16 84 99
Claire Helleputte – claire.helleputte@bnpparibas.com +33 (0)1 55 77 89 63

The BNP Paribas Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, under the patronage of the President of the French Republic launch One Planet Fellowship, a programme leveraging French, African and European expertise to support research on climate adaptation in Africa

• The BNP Paribas Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in partnership with the Agropolis Foundation, and under the auspices of the French ministry of Higher education, Research and Innovation, today announced the creation of One Planet Fellowship, a $15 million, 5-year programme.
• Funded on an equal basis by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the BNP Paribas Foundation, this philanthropic programme’s objective is to support 600 African and European researchers working to help Africa adapt to climate change. It also aims to bolster the African and European scientific community working in this field.
• The agreement was announced during the One Planet Summit in Paris on 12 December 2017, by Bill Gates, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-chair and Trustee and BNP Paribas CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, in the presence of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Director, Dr Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg in attendance.
• One Planet Fellows will collaborate in research and higher education projects that aim to advance agriculture and climate change issues, funded by the Agropolis Foundation over a five-year period with a budget of €5M.

Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The continent is likely to suffer serious consequences, such as prolonged periods of drought and lower crop yields. Given the urgency of the situation and the anticipated long-term impacts on the environment, it is vital to promote the development of relevant policies at the local level today. Such policies can only be drawn up on the basis of solid scientific knowledge.

The BNP Paribas Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, respectively committed to the fight against climate change and eradicating extreme poverty, are therefore launching today the One Planet Fellowship. The purpose of this philanthropic effort, which will be run by African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), is to provide additional resources to African research and support the work of the next generation of scientists who will have to deal with a new set of challenges.

One Planet Fellowship will on the one hand help to finance the research carried out by African scientists into climate change adaptation, focusing particularly on issues that small farmers will have to cope with, and on the other hand help to strengthen the capabilities of the African and European science communities through training programmes combining mentoring, study trips and networking opportunities for young researchers.

The One Planet Fellowship, which enjoys the official patronage of the President of France, has a total budget of $15 million, funded on an equal basis by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the BNP Paribas Foundation.

“Undertaking research into climate change adaptation enables us to gain a better understanding of the current and future risks and identify the best solutions to address them. I firmly believe that in the research field, sharing knowledge and working together are key to finding more effective solutions to climate change issues,” explained BNP Paribas CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafé.

“The foundation is delighted to support the creation of the One Planet Fellowship program,” said Nick Austin, Ph.D., director of Agricultural Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We believe it’s critical to nurture a new generation of climate scientists, particularly African scientists, who can build on existing agricultural research and innovations to deliver new climate adaptation solutions to help smallholder farmers and their families in the decades to come.”

“Building an African and European scientific community that stands together with rigour and commitment to fight against climate change and adapt agriculture is both a human and a scientific challenge. It calls for all people of good will to join and prepare our common future,” explained Pascal Kosuth, Director of the Agropolis Foundation.

Mobilizing 600 African and European scientists to work on Africa’s adaptation to climate change

120 African researchers will be selected on the basis of their climate change adaptation research projects. Each of them will receive a joint mentoring – from a scientist in Africa and in Europe – which will involve a period of several months working in a laboratory in Europe. In turn, they will then mentor two young researchers, one from an African institution and one from Europe. The programme will involve a total of 600 scientists over a period of five years.

In addition, these researchers will interact with projects, funded by the Agropolis Foundation, addressing climate change-related problems faced by agriculture.

In France, the researchers will be hosted in Montpellier by the Agropolis Foundation, which, together with its partners, constitutes a world-class scientific community of 2,700 researchers and teachers specialising in the fields of agriculture, food science, biodiversity and the environment. Funding members and partners include the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the French National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA), the French Research Institute for Development (IRD), Montpellier SupAgro (French National Institute of Higher Education in Agricultural Sciences), the University of Montpellier and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), all engaged in Montpellier University of Excellence (MUSE).

This new programme represents an additional step in the ongoing efforts made by the BNP Paribas Foundation to support research into ways and means of combating climate change. These targeted efforts started with the creation in 2010 of the Climate Initiative, a philanthropy programme with a budget of €6 million over three years (2017, 2018, 2019), and which provides backing to climate research projects following a careful process of selection by scientists reputed in their fields of research. Today the Climate Initiative is providing financial support to eight projects involving 178 researchers, engineers and academics from 73 universities and research institutes working on issues ranging from the study of past climates to the current impact of climate change on coral reefs.

One Planet Fellows will collaborate in research and higher education projects that aim to advance agriculture and climate change issues, funded by Agropolis Fondation over a five-year period with a budget of €5M.

 

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

 

About the Agropolis Foundation

The Agropolis Foundation promotes and supports high-level research and higher education in agricultural sciences and sustainable development. Emanation of the world-class Montpellier scientific community it connects it with an international network of over 400 foreign partner institutions, including the AWARD program presented above. In the past 10 years the Agropolis Foundation has granted €40 million to scientific projects on cultivated plant diversity, biology and breeding, crop protection, sustainable agriculture and food systems, agro-ecological transition, adaptation to climate change, food processing and quality, socio-economics and public policies.

 

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 74 countries, with more than 192,000 employees, including more than 146,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the European leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.

 

About the BNP Paribas Foundation

Under the oversight of the Foundation of France, the BNP Paribas Foundation has been a major player in corporate philanthropy for 30 years. It is also encouraging and contributing to the      BNP Paribas’ philanthropic policy growth in all parts of the world wherever the Bank operates. The BNP Paribas Foundation’s activities are aimed at multidisciplinary philanthropy, supporting innovative projects dedicated to culture, social inclusion and the environment. It pays close attention to the quality of its commitment to its partners through a long-term commitment. Since 1984, over 300 cultural projects, 40 research programs and a thousand social and educational initiatives have earned its support in France and around the world.

 

Press Contacts

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Gates Media – media@gatesfoundation.org

BNP Paribas
Julia Boyce – julia.boyce@bnpparibas.com +33 (0)1 43 16 82 04
Coralie France-Savin – coralie.francesavin@bnpparibas.com +33 (0)1 40 14 94 89
Renato Martinelli – renato.martinelli@bnpparibas.com +33 (0)1 58 16 84 99
Claire Helleputte – claire.helleputte@bnpparibas.com +33 (0)1 55 77 89 63

Agropolis Foundation
Oliver Oliveros – oliveros@agropolis.fr +33 (0)6 70 39 18 39

During April 2017, top student newspapers from across the U.S., Europe and Asia will bring attention to young people addressing problems on their campuses, in their communities, and around the world.

April 10 was Impact Journalism Day Universities, an initiative sponsored by BNP Paribas, during which school newspapers highlight student initiatives making a difference.

Through high quality, in-depth articles about projects managed by students, this alliance of student newspapers aims to open the eyes of their generation to positive action they can take right now. From teaching each other how to use computer science for social good, to creating platforms that crowdfund for university fees, to providing peer support for mental health, to sharing education with refugees, these stories show that students are actively challenging the notion that nothing can be done.

Impact Journalism Day Universities is a replica of Sparknews’ international solutions journalism event, Impact Journalism Day, which unites a coalition of international newspapers to report on innovative solutions to global issues and expose readers to stories that can inspire positive change.

Great universities around the world are participating, like Oxford, Princeton, Stanford, University of California at Berkeley, andSciences Po in Paris.

Click here to see the introduction video of the initiative

Click here to vote for your favorite story